Benefits of Home Solar Panels

More than five million Americans have adopted rooftop solar panels, and not just for fun. Rooftop solar panels can deliver real benefits. From the global and regional — like addressing climate change and meeting rising electricity demand — to the personal — like reducing electricity bills — the benefits of rooftop solar are varied but significant.

Here are some of the biggest benefits to homeowners who go solar.

Solar Panels Can Lower Your Electricity Bill

Let's start with one of the most significant benefits of solar energy: Installing solar panels may reduce your total electricity costs and help you save money on your utility bill.

The US Energy Information Administration reports the average monthly electricity bill in the US was $136.84, or $1,642.08 per year. Rooftop solar panels can offset your monthly electricity costs, which may save you thousands of dollars over the lifetime of your solar energy system.

Advances in technology and the improvement of solar warranty coverage mean solar panel ownership is becoming easier and far less expensive. Considering the average solar energy system can last an average of 25 years and often pays for itself in just 6-10 years, solar panels can save you significant money in the long run. 

Innovative models like solar leasing can reduce the barrier to entry and provide an alternative to people who don’t want to buy solar panels.

If you purchase solar panels you may qualify for a federal solar tax credit that allows you to deduct up to 30% off the cost of your solar energy system from your federal taxes, though the credit now expires at the end of 2025. Where available, net metering allows you to earn credit for the extra energy you produce and feed into the grid.

When you generate your own electricity with solar panels, you gain greater control over your energy costs. By installing solar batteries alongside your panels, you can store the excess power your panels generate and use it throughout the night or when your panels don’t meet your home’s immediate demand.

Here’s average estimated savings using data from real projects around the country.

Solar Helps the Environment

An investment in solar is an investment in sustainability. Replacing your use of grid electricity (which almost certainly includes some fossil fuels) reduces your carbon footprint. Solar energy is clean, green, and renewable — a better solution for your home, your community, and the environment.

While the manufacturing of solar panels requires resources and energy, their lifetime demand on the earth is less than that of fossil fuels, which produce harmful air pollution, including many of the greenhouse gases driving climate change.

Rooftop solar panels have an additional environmental advantage that they don’t require new land to be installed, just the space on your roof.

Solar Can Help You Navigate Power Outages

Americans experienced five and a half hours of power interruptions in 2022 (the most recent data from the US Energy Information administration). That’s down from an average of eight hours in 2020 (the most since record keeping began in 2013), but still higher than most years before then.

Solar plus storage can help you get through an outage. A backup battery installed with solar panels can power at least parts of your home throughout the outage. How much of your home and for how long depends on the size of the battery and what you choose to power. Paired solar panels will recharge your battery when the sun is out.

Storage isn’t for everyone, but it can be a clean and quiet alternative to a standby generator and meet your needs just as well. Batteries can also boost your solar savings outside of an outage, especially in areas with high electricity rates and low export rates.

Solar Can Increase the Value of Your Home

Among the benefits of a solar system, installing solar panels can increase the value of your home. Buyers and sellers now consider a solar installation to be an important home upgrade, like a finished basement or renovated kitchen.

Some experts estimate a home's value could increase up to $20 for every $1 a solar energy system saves on energy costs per year. Zillow also found homes with solar panels sell for 4.1% more than homes without, worth an additional $9,274 in value.

In short, solar-powered homes have been shown to stand out, earn more, and sell faster in the national real estate market.

The Many Benefits Of Solar Panels

One of the core benefits of solar power is that choosing to install solar panels has a positive impact on you and the planet. Home solar panels get you closer to energy independence and help you know where your power comes from, how it's produced, and how it's consumed.

A solar power system can save you money, cut down on carbon emissions, and help you remain prepared during an energy crisis or blackout.

While electricity rates continue to rise, solar energy continues to become more efficient, reliable, and affordable every year. It’s also one of the cleanest, renewable power sources we have, and it’s available in abundant supply.

Check out Palmetto’s free solar savings estimator to see how solar panels would look on your home and find out how much you could save.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are solar panels worth it?

Solar panels can certainly be worth it. Many people save enough on their electricity bills to earn back the cost of their solar panels well before the useful life of their panels is over. They can also raise home values and provide emergency backup power when paired with a backup battery.

Do solar panels save you money?

Solar panels can save you money. Estimates of the average solar payback period range from six to just more than ten years, though solar panels can last for 25. In some regions and for some homes, solar panels may not save enough money to be worth it on strictly financial terms.